Mental health posts on social media

[Boogers]

I probably am being unreasonable but this is the 5th time I've seen this since 1st January.

"I suffer from depression and panic attacks..." You've probably had the same copied and pasted Facebook post.

Fuck. Off.

I was diagnosed with depression in 1999 at the age of 21. With many lows and highs, culminating in me destroying the living room on a high, failing miserably and then going on a 'walk', barefoot, no coat, in the snow in November, with the intention of going into the river to drown, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder in 2012. I've told a few people; H knows (obviously), my father and stepmother know, as do my in-laws.

The thing that really boils my urine are the people whom I considered good friends, with whom I've been open and honest about my diagnosis who were then nowhere to be seen. Party invitations stopped. Nights out stopped. Previously frequent conversations by email and social media stopped.

I'm still me. I just have a wonky brain, as I tell my children.

Depression isn't glamorous. It's not pleasant to live with, and I've found to my cost that telling people you have a mental illness results in isolation.

Stop making light of mental health difficulties just for likes.

MargaretCavendish sounds like you had a horrible time, and you are right to think 'screw those people'. I just wanted to clarify that it is my experience (from discussing MH with and knowing the poster) that my Fb friends who post to raise awareness of MH are not the individuals who are genuinely affected. Furthermore IRL they are not always particularly sensitive or understanding of MH issues. I was not diagnosing or second guessing others illness.

Those copy and paste things do come across as glib. Especially the 'my door is open and the kettle is always on ready for a friend' because you bloody well know that's not the case!!!

i dislike those in support posts but them selves are nothing but superficial

my other halfs sister is like this ,all show go's with the crowd says she's kind wants to help those in need yet in reality almost sent me into a breakdown on christmas. Has no idea ,condemns me because i wont get a full time job,dont take my daughter out by myself and nit picks at my parenting.

Yet never actually asks why

Yes the kettle one is annoying. I wouldn't do any copying and pasting if I didn't agree with the sentiment. I would rather use my own words.
Having had depression I never really wanted to talk to anybody when I was in it. Quite the opposite.

YANBU to be irritated by this; I am too.

The thing is, I know that people mean well by sharing this stuff. They think they are being understanding and 'raising awareness'. But all too often they're sharing stuff which is massively inaccurate or misleading, or explicitly suggests that people who have mental health issues are somehow stronger, more creative, more sensitive or more interesting. This is complete horseshit.

I am prone to depression and anxiety and I have mild OCD which gets worse at times. No, this doesn't make me creative or someone who feels things more deeply or whatever. It actually completely kills any creativity or emotional intelligence I might possess, and is just debilitating and dull.

As I say, I know people do mean well by sharing this stuff. But I wish they'd channel that effort into sharing proper, official campaign posts from charities like Mind or Rethink - posts that actually do educate and inform people about mental health and increase understanding. I share those posts because those charities really helped me and their advice is brilliant, but I never see those posts shared by the same people who share a picture of a sunset or a dandelion clock with "Those whose lights shine brightest are the ones who have the darkest days" or some other such drivel written over it.

Dolly - I agree with your point that there is often little 'compensation' to having a mental health problem. I am a better person when I'm well, by far. The only good thing is that I hope it's helped me be more understanding and empathetic to others.

I have seen these posts as well and whilst I think it is great that there is not so much stigma attached to MH issues, I can't help thinking that some people wear their illness as a badge of honour and to make excuses for their bad behaviour. For the record I have suffered from anxiety and depression for many yeas and will probably never come off of medication. Only those nearest and dearest to me are aware of this because I don't want anyone labeling me if that makes sense?

The thing is, I know that people mean well by sharing this stuff. They think they are being understanding and 'raising awareness'. But all too often they're sharing stuff which is massively inaccurate or misleading, or explicitly suggests that people who have mental health issues are somehow stronger, more creative, more sensitive or more interesting. This is complete horseshit

This, with bells on. MH issues run so much deeper than a trivial explanation on FB, and copying and pasting this kind of thing does the cause no favours IMO. I also think it clumps together all MH issues as 1 big 'thing' when really the spectrum is huge, and we should be understanding that first and foremost.

I'm completely with you! I've had severe OCD since i was 5, depression since 14. Family abandoned me when my mum died, so i just have my dad, and sister who suffers severely from both also. (So thats a vote from me OCD IS genetic, also got an uncle with it mildly, and my dad has extreme weather anxiety)
I cannot stand those stupid, stupid "How OCD are you?" quizzes that go round that are always just pictures of patterns etc with one little piece out of place, as if that is the ONLY thing OCD is about! And the idiotic posts saying "It should be called CDO so the letters are in order".
SO many people in my life when i tell them i have OCD, respond with "I have that too!". Turns out (an actual example) they think the fact they feel some small amount of annoyance of not being able to get a picture/poster to hang perfectly straight, but who forget all about it as soon as they aren't looking it at it, and can leave it up without any anxiety etc, is OCD. Yeah, when i spent over a year of my life with it taking me a total of 9 hours straight stuck in my bathroom to complete my rituals start to finish just to have a pee, EVERY time i had to pee, it was SO comforting that you insist you understand because you got mildly annoyed for 10 seconds walking past a F***G poster.

I have a few good friends who have stuck by me and my family. I have anxiety and depression. In stretaline which seems to help. We have been through hell the last two years. I have 16 year old twins one with minor aniexty issue. He has is waiting for councilling. But my oldest twin has attempted suicide twice in the past year. We have been backward and forward to cahms for almost two years who can't diagnose what is actually wrong. He still feels from time to time he has sucidial thoughts. He hasn't told anyone believes no one will care. He got diagnosed with an eating disorder but they changed mind on that also. It's a very tough lonely road.

I have a friend who has BPD and it has really fucked up her relationships with friends and her close family, its horrible. A couple of years ago she posted a 'coming out' message on FB, but it was obviously very heartfelt and something that she had given a lot of thought to.

Not just a copy.and paste job, how pointless?

Not as bad as the 'my kettle is on and my door is open' one that is currently doing the rounds. Could you be any more insincere?!

bumble what an ignorant post. Just so you know some conditions won't even be diagnosed without so called 'bad behaviour'. E.g. Bipolar or borderline personality. Attitudes like that just make it so much harder for sufferers.

There seems to be some confusing as to what BPD stands for--usually borderline personality disorder not bipolar disorder.

The two are very different (even if they 'look' similar to some people).

YABU, people can deal with the difficulties any way they like, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.

I've seen people post that kind of thing on facebook because they can't tell anyone in person. Or because it seemed like a good idea at the time then they regretted it. Or because they don't see a stigma so don't think twice about it. Or because they want lots of people to offer sympathy and support. Any number of reasons.

I wouldn't. Keeping my job depends on keeping my poor mental health history confidential. But I don't see why other people shouldn't.

I doubt they're lying either. More than a third of teenage girls now suffer from anxiety or depression at some point. So the percentage of adults will logically be pretty high too. Most cases will be fairly minor, of course. But that doesn't mean they're not valid and worth sympathy.

The more mental health issues become normalised the better in my view. The quickest way to reach people is via social media. I feel far more comfortable talking about my issues now than I did 20 years ago when they started and that can only be a good thing. I've not seen the FB message you're referring to however.

Just going back on bumblebee's post, my mental health issues are absolutely no badge of honour. Exactly the opposite. Depression, bipolar, BPD, panic attacks, anxiety, schizophrenia - none of them sexy, especially when you're going through an episode. My last panic attack in November, H came home and found me in a snotty, teary mess, hyperventilating in the toilet. When I was diagnosed with bipolar, after my 'walk', I was covered in blood from the cuts on my feet, hands, arms and face. When it first clicked that something was wrong in 1999 I couldn't stop crying at seemingly innocent things that I was used to coping with.

Yes, my behaviour has been bad, but in 2012, when I was found by police hiding in a tree, I couldn't even say what day it was. I am not making excuses, I'm trying to explain that the result of my behaviour was I had a diagnosis and received medication that has helped.

OP, whenever I see posts like this in FB, I assume that the person has a valid reason for writing or sharing what they have.
It's not up to me to judge whether or not they are suffering. I don't know whether or not they have a diagnosis. I don't really care whether or not they have. I'm also not into playing MH' top trumps ('I feel worse than you...').
Who are we to judge?